Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to distribution of content and more particularly to managing bandwidth usage of a content provider.
Content providers can provide various types of services and content available for download to a number of subscribers or users over one or more networks including the Internet and various other types of local area and wide area networks, wired and wireless networks. Content distributed by these content providers can include audio, video, various types of web or other services, etc. Some content providers distribute content via networks which the do not own or control. For example, some content providers utilize the Internet or other network for which they pay a fee charged based on bandwidth used. Other content providers maintain networks which they own and/or control and therefore do not pay a usage fee per se.
In some cases, it may be beneficial for these different content providers to share resources such that one content provider can utilize the network and/or systems maintained by another. However, even if such an agreement can be made, there is no effective way for clients of the content providers to download content from select locations based on the cost of those downloads to the content providers or in light of these agreements. Hence, there is a need in the art for improved methods and systems for managing bandwidth usage of a content provider.